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It’s still October and there’s already a little bit of Christmas in my house. A garland on the stairs, a wreath on the front door, a handful of festive candles flickering away on a timer. No tree yet, no tinsel, no boxes dragged out of the loft.
That’s what it means to soft launch Christmas. You add small festive touches over a few weeks rather than transforming the whole house in one frantic weekend in December. By the time the tree goes up, the house already feels the part, so decorating it becomes the fun bit instead of another job on the Done by December list.
Very’s Christmas shop is live now, so there’s plenty to pick from if you fancy starting early. Here’s how I’m doing it at home, in the order I’d suggest you do it.
Why it’s worth soft launching Christmas
The festive season disappears in the blink of an eye. One minute it’s the first week of November and the next you’re wrapping presents right before Christmas. Then suddenly the New Year is here and it’s all over.
Spreading the decorating out means no single job is a big one. You change a candle here, swap some flowers there, hang something on a door handle while the kettle boils. The evenings are getting darker anyway, so anything that adds a warm glow is welcome whether or not it’s technically Christmas yet.
It also means you’re not buying everything in a panic. Pick up a bit as you go and the whole thing feels more like a treat than a chore.
1. Start with candles
Candles are the gentlest place to begin. Nobody looks at a candle in October and thinks you’ve gone overboard, because candles aren’t just for Christmas. But swap your usual ones for darker, more Christmas themed colours and scents, and the room warms up straight away.
Mine are tapers, in burgundy, dark green, and orange, spread throughout the house. They’re battery operated, and I’d honestly recommend that. You can set them on timers, so they come on by themselves as it gets dark and the room is already glowing by the time I sit down. No matches, no wax on the furniture, no wondering whether you left one burning (especially if they are near the decorations).
The colours do the festive work here. Red and green tapers look like Christmas without a single bauble in sight, and they still look right in January if you want to keep them out.
2. Swap your faux flowers for something more seasonal
One of the easiest soft launch moves is changing what’s in your vases. I’ve had faux sunflowers in my zebra vases by the stairs since the summer, and they were lovely. But they were starting to look a bit out of step with the time of year.
So I swapped them. Same vases, same spot, completely different mood. The thistles and the eucalyptus stayed, because they work in any season, and the sunflowers and pale blooms came out. In went deep red Christmas tree clips.
Those clips are meant for the tree, and I’m only borrowing them for now. Although, I might not give them back. I like them in the vases so much that they may stay here when the tree goes up.
That’s the beauty of faux flowers. You only need to change the stems that say summer, and you keep everything else. It takes a few minutes, and the whole corner looks like it’s been styled for the season. A green taper in a glass candlestick next to the vases finishes it off (again, battery operated, we don’t want the faux flowers going up in smoke).
3. Put up a stair garland for ambient lighting
If I could only keep one soft launch job, it would be the garland. It’s up the banister now, with fairy lights threaded through it, and in the evenings it’s the main light in the hallway.
The lights give off a soft, warm glow that makes the whole hall feel cosy, without turning it into a grotto. I’ve also clipped some of the red faux hydrangea tree clips along it, which gives the greenery something richer to look at than plain pine. They’re easy to move around, so if one ends up in the wrong place you just unclip it and try again.
A garland is one of the quicker jobs on the list, and one of the most noticeable. You walk past it every time you go upstairs, so you get the full benefit all day. It’s probably my favourite decoration for the Christmas season, as the stairs are at the centre of the house and it instantly sets the mood. I’m always sad when I have to take this down in January.
4. Put Christmas bedding on the kids’ beds
Bedding might be the most underrated soft launch of all, and kids’ rooms are the perfect place to start. You’re already changing the bed, so swapping the cover for a festive one is no extra effort at all. And a room can go from everyday to Christmassy in about two minutes.
This pink Christmas bedding is covered in sleighs, trees, candy canes, bells and wrapped presents. The soft toys have clearly got into the spirit too, one in a Santa hat and a Rudolph.
Put it on now and the kids get weeks of festive mornings instead of a fortnight. Waking up in a bed full of Christmas is a small bit of magic, and it doesn’t need any storage space or any special effort. In January it goes back in the wardrobe until next year.
5. Collect tree ornaments as you go
Ornaments don’t all need to be bought in bulk in December. I pick them up a few at a time, whenever I see something I like, and they go in a box until it’s time for the tree.
This gold jingle bell with a red velvet bow is a good example. It’s the sort of thing that looks expensive and feels very grown up, and it’s just one bell. A few of those, plus some smaller, softer pieces like these little felt ornaments, and the tree starts to look collected rather than bought in one go.
The felt snowman and reindeer are tiny, light and very easy to hang. You don’t have to wait for the tree either. A ribbon loop on a door handle, a bell on a candlestick, a little reindeer on a mirror frame. All of it counts as a soft launch, and it all goes on the tree later.
Buying a couple at a time also makes it feel like a treat. A new ornament is a nice thing to pick up at a craft fair on a whim.
6. Hang a wreath that doesn’t scream Christmas
A festive door wreath doesn’t have to be all red and glitter. Mine is mostly foliage, with pine cones, a few white berries, some eucalyptus leaves and an olive coloured velvet bow hanging from the bottom.
On my blue front door, it looks more like a winter wreath than a Christmas one. That’s exactly why I like it. It says something is happening in the house without screaming Christmas, and it can stay up well into January without looking odd.
If you want to go for something similar, take a look at the Christmas décor at Very. Foliage and pine cones are what make it work, and you can add the bow in whatever shade suits your door.
A rough plan if you’re starting now
This is how I’d spread it out if you’re starting from scratch:
- Now: candles and a vase swap
- Early November: garland, wreath and festive bedding
- Through November: ornaments, a few at a time
- December 1st: the tree
None of those jobs takes long, and nothing needs to be done all at once. If a week goes by and you do nothing, you haven’t fallen behind. You’ve just got a slightly longer soft launch.
A few quick questions
There’s no rule. Plenty of people start in late October or early November with candles, bedding and greenery, then add the tree in December. Start whenever it feels nice rather than when the calendar says so.
Anything small and festive that isn’t a full tree. Candles in red and green, a garland, a wreath, Christmas bedding or a few ornaments around the house are all good places to begin.
Not straight away. Foliage, candles and velvet bows still look good in the cold, dark weeks after Christmas, so you can phase it out slowly too.
What I’d do this weekend
If you only do one thing, put the candles on a timer and see how the room looks at 5pm. Then change the bedding on one bed. Those two jobs take about ten minutes between them, and you’ll know straight away whether you want to carry on.
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Most Sundays, once the house has gone quiet and it's edging towards nine, a letter goes out. It's the one I'd write to a friend with good taste and not nearly enough time: one thing worth reading, one thing worth buying, and one thing to skip. No noise, no pressure to spend, just the considered version of what I've actually been using, loving, or quietly sending back.
